Tottenham 3-1 Bodo/Glimt: Spurs take giant step towards first European trophy in 41 years – but late goal gives visitors hope for return leg

There was plenty of tittering when Tottenham let it be known they would rather not be known as just Tottenham anymore.

They wanted to emphasise the Hotspur, they told broadcast partners in February, because they were the only hot spurs in the world.

The only problem was that at the time they were hardly on fire.

Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs have been ice cold for weeks and the mood around N17 had shifted accordingly.

The Europa League, however, has set the temperatures rising.

First in Frankfurt, with a gutsy win in the quarter final and then this, back to something close to full power against Bodo/Glimt depleted foes from the Arctic Circle in their first major European semi-final.

Tottenham blew them away. They were one up inside 38 seconds through Brennan Johnson and had a second before half time scored by James Maddison before a penalty converted by Dominic Solanke gave them a 3-0 lead.

Postecoglou’s team looked in the groove. Slick on the ball and aggressive in the tackle. Spurs clicked back to their best albeit against a team who looked to have reached the end of their extraordinary journey.

And they take a strong lead to northern Norway, where Bodo have won nine of 10 European games this season on their notorious plastic pitch, toppling such illustrious names as Porto, Red Star and Lazio.

Postecoglou had not dared to entertain the concept of killing off this tie in the first leg, but there was a time midway through the second half when it looked like they might.

Jubilant Spurs fans were singing about the final in Bilbao but injuries in the second half to Maddison and Solanke tempered the jubilation before Ulrik Saltnes pulled a goal back with Bodo’s first shot on target, which found the net with the help of a deflection in the 83rd minute.

It rekindled hope in the away end but Tottenham are in control.

Postecoglou sprang a surprise with his selection. Having lost Swedish teenager Lucas Bergvall to an ankle injury in training on the eve of the game, the Spurs boss called Yves Bissouma into midfield alongside Rodrigo Bentancur.

Richarlison started up front on the left ahead of Mathys Tel and Johnson on the right ahead of Dejan Kulusevski, all of which looked like an inspired selection when Johnson struck inside a minute.

Bissouma was involved, chasing a loose ball to maintain the early pressure and winning a duel with Ole Didrik Blomberg. So was Richarlison. It was his cross from the left recycled by Bissouma. Then the Brazilian towered high at the back post to reach the cross from Pedro Porro and head it square across goal.

Johnson came racing into the penalty area unmarked to force a header past goalkeeper Nikita Haikin. After a split-second pause to check whether the Spanish referee had not awarded a foul against Bissouma, the noise exploded from all sides of the ground.

Tottenham Hotspur’s new stadium rarely generates a hostile environment, and artificial pre match anthems and tifo displays can seem forced, but the Spurs fans all came in white in the spring sunshine and whipped up a terrific atmosphere as kick off approached.

Then the players delivered with a quickfire goal and followed it with more attacking intent, winning corners and forcing the Norwegians back. Maddison, Micky van de Ven and Udogie all missed the target with chances.

Bodo/Glimt were depleted, without five of their first team, three suspended and two injured. They only named six outfield players on the bench. Those on the pitch called an emergency huddle to regroup after conceding.

They dropped to defend deep and worked hard to regroup and ride out the storm. Richarlison was the chief threat on the Spurs left, with Maddison picking him out with passes and Destiny Udogie charging past on the overlap.

Inevitably, the tempo faded slightly, and the Norwegian champions ventured forward tentatively. There was a penalty claim waved away, and reminders for Tottenham they might have to defend, before they broke out of defence for the second.

Bentancur worked hard to protect possession under pressure in his own half and moved the ball via Van de Ven and goalkeeper Gugliemlo Vicario to Porro, who picked out Maddison’s forward run from midfield.

His first touch with the outside of his right foot was excellent, giving him a shooting angle and his finish was a little scuffed, which worked his favour, dragging the ball past keeper Haikin’s desperate dive and the defenders scrambling back.

England boss Thomas Tuchel looked down from the stands.

On the touchline, Postecoglou allowed himself a rare moment of celebration, turning and hugging his coaches Matt Wells and Ryan Mason.

Haikin made a flying save to deny Bentancur a third before Tottenham’s Uruguayan midfielder was caught on his heels in his own box when Blomberg flashed a volley over Vicario’s goal just before the interval.

Bodo/Glimt were more solid in the second half. The penalty was one of those soft ones, a classic of the VAR era, where Cristian Romero stole in to beat Fredrik Sjovold to a high ball.

Sjovold had been trying to boot the ball clear but ended up kicking Romero on the calf and a penalty was awarded after a VAR intervention.

Solanke, who scored the winner from the spot in Frankfurt, stepped up in front of the South Stand, and rolled it into the bottom corner.

Tottenham could have done without the additional injury concerns and the goal conceded, but Spurs are in control getting a little hotter.